Dixon, Jean Louise

I am a geomorphologist interested in the chemical, physical and biological processes at Earth’s Surface that form soil from rock, transport soil and sediment, and sculpt the landsurface. My research uses geochemical tools such as cosmogenic radionuclides to quantify the rates and patterns of Earth surface processes. I couple geochemical analysis with field observations, digital terrain analysis and simple numerical models to understand the primary controls on the evolution of diverse landscapes and the sensitivity of the Earth’s soils and surface to changes in tectonics, climate and human activity.

My research follows several broad themes:

Thresholds for soil formation and weathering
Topographic signatures and rates of geomorphic processes
The role of external forcings such as climate, tectonics and humans in landscape evolution
Geochemical tracing of sediment generation and transport